profile pictures or not

Of the silly, meaningless things I wrestle for the blogs or any social media, my profile picture probably takes the cake. It's silly because what difference does it make? Who looks at it besides me? But I grow to hate them almost as soon as I have one up and while others might only look at a photo once in a blue moon, I look at it more critically far more often.

It's not like I care if they are flattering. Sure I don't want them to look ugly but I want them to do two things-- look like me and depict a mood that seems right for the blog except, of course, that is bound to change and hence one of the problems. Sometimes I take one from the digital camera but often cutting those down doesn't work so well as the face will be a small part of the photo-- although that might not always be bad.

Instead generally I use the webcam which gives me more control over expression-- except what expression would be best and why does the expression seem to change from the time I took it to the time I looked at the photo?

I know this isn't really an art form but it is a creative challenge with which I don't seem to ever quite find myself satisfied.  The current profile photo seemed a little on the long side; so I experimented with squishing it just a bit... but then when I looked in the reflection on the laptop, the long side did seem most accurate. Does a mirror really tell us the truth either though?

 And then there is color. No matter how I think it looks like natural color, it never quite does and can go from nearly black and white to orange tones, none of which are right. Maybe black and white would be the ticket-- except I am not black and white... well my hair in front has a lot of white these days.

I have thought about putting a photo of something I really like in the profile, like say the full moon or maybe a mountain top but I like seeing other writers; and so I keep playing with this thinking someday I'll get the one photo that depicts the right mood, color, still looks like me, and of which I won't hate in a week. From the way it has appeared, it'll probably never happen!